Devanagari
यज्ञाय धर्मपतये विधिनैपुणाययोगाय साङ्ख्यशिरसे प्रकृतीश्वराय
नारायणाय हरये नम इत्युदारंहास्यन्मृगत्वमपि य: समुदाजहार ॥ ४५ ॥
Verse text
yajṣāya dharma-pataye vidhi-naipuṇāya
yogāya sāṅkhya-śirase prakṛtīśvarāya
nārāyaṇāya haraye nama ity udāraṁ
hāsyan mṛgatvam api yaḥ samudājahāra
Synonyms
yajṣāya
—
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who enjoys the results of all great sacrifices
;
dharma
—
pataye — unto the master or propounder of religious principles
;
vidhi
—
naipuṇāya — who gives the devotee the intelligence to follow the regulative principles expertly
;
yogāya
—
the personification of mystic yoga
;
sāṅkhya
—
śirase — who taught the Sāṅkhya philosophy or who actually gives knowledge of Sāṅkhya to the people of the world
;
prakṛti
—
īśvarāya — the supreme controller of this cosmic manifestation
;
nārāyaṇāya
—
the resting place of the innumerable living entities ( nara means the living entities, and ayana means the shelter)
;
haraye
—
unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Hari
;
namaḥ
—
respectful obeisances
;
iti
—
thus
;
udāram
—
very loudly
;
hāsyan
—
smiling
;
mṛgatvam api
—
although in the body of a deer
;
yaḥ
—
who
;
samudājahāra
—
chanted .
Translation
Even though in the body of a deer, Mahārāja Bharata did not forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore when he was giving up the body of a deer, he loudly uttered the following prayer: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sacrifice personified. He gives the results of ritualistic activity. He is the protector of religious systems, the personification of mystic yoga, the source of all knowledge, the controller of the entire creation, and the Supersoul in every living entity. He is beautiful and attractive. I am quitting this body offering obeisances unto Him and hoping that I may perpetually engage in His transcendental loving service.” Uttering this, Mahārāja Bharata left his body.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I offer respects to the personification of sacrifice, the master of dharma, who is skilful in the rules for sacrifice, to the personification of yoga, to the head of Sāṅkhya, to the Lord of prakṛti, to Nārāyaṇa, to Hari. Wanting to give up his deer body, he chanted loudly this prayer.
In three lines, successively karma, jṣāna and bhakti are glorified for having greater and greater excellence. I offer respects to the Lord who is expert in the rules for sacrifice (vidhi-naipuṇāya). While desiring to give up (hāsyan) his deer body, not at the time of death, he chanted, since the Lord would make him take birth again to perfect his bhakti.
Purport
The entire
Vedas
are meant for the understanding of
karma, jṣāna
and
yoga
— fruitive activity, speculative knowledge and mystic
yoga.
Whatever way of spiritual realization we accept, the ultimate goal is Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The living entities are eternally connected with Him via devotional service. As stated in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ:
the perfection of life is to remember Nārāyaṇa at the time of death. Although Bharata Mahārāja had to accept the body of a deer, he could remember Nārāyaṇa at the time of death. Consequently he took birth as a perfect devotee in a
brāhmaṇa
family. This confirms the statement of
Bhagavad-gītā
(6.41)
,
śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo ’bhijāyate:
“One who falls from the path of self-realization takes birth in a family of
brāhmaṇas
or wealthy aristocrats.” Although Mahārāja Bharata appeared in the royal family, he became neglectful and took birth as a deer. Because he was very cautious within his deer body, he took birth in a
brāhmaṇa
family as Jaḍa Bharata. During this lifetime, he remained perfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious and preached the gospel of Kṛṣṇa consciousness directly, beginning with his instructions to Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa. In this regard, the word
yogāya
is very significant. The purpose of
aṣṭāṅga-yoga,
as stated by Madhvācārya, is to link or connect with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The goal is not to display some material perfections.